I would say generally that we pretty much unschooled up until about 7th grade. By unschooling I mean: We read aloud tons - a couple hours a day on average at various points during the day.  These read alouds usually led us on rabbit trails where we read more about a particular aspect of a topic, we watched videos, educational TV, we went on fieldtrips, we did projects-all very loosely and casually pursued.  We also listened to lots of audio books and things like Schoolhouse Rock and other edutainment type media, including computer/video games. We were involved in all sort of outside activities such as co-ops (usually not academic), scouts, 4H, American Heritage Girls, all kinds of lessons like piano, swimming, tennis, art, etc, as well as group field trips and family organized field trips, and various week long camps. Strewing - we had a math station where the kids could measure and do various mathy things when the spirit moved them, I strewed lots of books and a...

I'm actually contemplating subscribing to this preschool program this coming year.  I feel it is a slightly crazy idea, but here's my thinking.  I'm 59 and not the spring chicken I used to be in terms of energy level (which was never particularly high to begin with!).  If all goes as planned I am going to be nanny to my grandson who is due August 8th.  I'm looking forward to it.  But on top of that I'm going to be watching Dylan, the three year old son of a homeless woman we took in three years ago (when the baby was 6 months old).  We love her, and it's been wonderful to have her here.  We have a finished basement that was not getting used much so she lives there.  Little Dylan is like our proto-grandson!  We've helped raise him and he's the apple of our eye.  But til now, while we watch him a lot, his mom has not had a full time job.  She is looking for one now.  She's trying to get into IT and get certified and such so she c...

Independence Day!  July is another vacation month where you might go visiting places that are steeped in American history.  But the first theme of the month is to learn why we declared independence from England in the first place. Here's a wonderful bunch of links to resources from The Homeschool Mom Jim Weiss recording about the Founding Fathers  - great audio to listen to in the car. Read Aloud for the whole family: George Washington's World A great independent read for teens is 1776 by David McCullough.  Reads like a novel!   If you need activity books in the car while driving to your destination spot, or just some quiet time activity, here's a kit from Dover Publications. My kids really enjoyed this CD Science The science behind fireworks! Or watch t his video (over an hour long ) and probably better for teens.  Count it towards your chemistry credits! Copy Work: The Declaration of Independence ...

If anyone at all is focusing on fairy tales and folktales this June, here is a great article about why folklore is so important to reclaiming our culture from the many things that ail it!

I am hooked on this youtube channel.   If you have any interest in how the colonists and pioneers lived back in the 18th century, this is your channel.  The host Don Townsend actually runs a store for living history re-enactors. He loves to try to cook the way they did back then and decipher the recipes so we can see (and he can taste!) how the food really was prepared with all the steps that went into it all.  But he also talks about every aspect of life back then from being a sailor on a ship, to camping out in the wilderness.  Usually, at least once a week he puts up a video. Every Friday he has a live stream which I guess goes on for an hour or more - that might not be so kid friendly.  Not because the topics are un-family friendly.  Don's a super nice, sweet guy.  But the format, while amusing and interesting to adults, might not please children as much.  But the regular videos will probably really appeal to kids.  And I, as an adult wom...

Here's a link to a list I call Fundamentals of Unschooling.    I truly believe that if you abide by these, your children will have a wonderfully rich education!

I remember encountering the idea that the unschooling parent should treat their child like a guest.  Children were not chattel to be lorded over, the thinking went.  Instead, they should be treated with deference.  You don't demand your guest do daily chores so why would you of your child?  If the guest chooses they can help out to be polite and so it should be with your child.  Because somehow asking your child to do chores is too authoritarian. I do think many parents attracted to unschooling in a radical way have their own problems with authority and also have a romanticized elevation of 'autonomy' as being the highest good.  And because they see any incursion of the child's autonomy as unjust in some way, they get to these really weird places where they think treating their own flesh and blood as a 'guest' is somehow more loving and respectful.  And also, they impose an unrealistic idea of autonomy on an immature and dependent child; a person in ...